The Class

Feb 11

April HaymanOpinion, Technology, instructional design , , , , 1 Comment

This YouTube video is making the rounds through Twitter and I thought I’d share it with you. While it pokes fun at higher education and the use of technology thereof, I don’t think it’s too far off the mark. What I did like was that the professor was flexible enough to listen to his students and make some changes. After you watch the video, I’ll walk you through some tips that I would give to the professor on redesigning with technology in mind. More

Goodbye…and Hello!

Jan 22

April HaymanFeatured, ISTE, Opinion, Uncategorized , , , No Comments

Turn the light off - Goodbye / Arrivederci

Image by janusz l via Flickr

For the past three years I have worked as an instructional designer at Performance Learning Systems. It was a great experience and I learned quite a bit about design, teamwork, and myself. I have made some great friends while developing online higher education for teachers. But, like all great things, my time with PLS has come to an end. And, with a heavy heart, I must say goodbye to the friends and colleagues I have come to know so well.

And say hello to my new colleagues at ISTE. As of January 25, I will be working for this terrific organization as an instructional designer. I look forward to creating professional development that is informative, timely, and innovative. I find this opportunity exciting as I hope to continue my personal mission to help teachers prepare our kids for a world increasingly dependent on technology and the increasing amounts of available information.

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My Predictions for Learning Trends for 2010

Jan 01

April HaymanFeatured, Opinion No Comments

In my crystal ball, the future is murky…so very very murky…but wait! It clears just a bit. Listen carefully for this is what I see:

  1. a redefinition of the terms “teacher” and “student” and “subject matter expert” because of open source content
  2. the emergence of a new marketplace system dependent upon open source resources and content
  3. open source software accepted on its own merits and not as a “poor cousin”
  4. connections between ourselves (personal), each other (social), and networks (technological) becoming ubiquitous and it will seem odd if someone doesn’t have some kind of mobile or computing device on their person at all times
  5. social learning becoming a buzzword
  6. e-books and e-textbooks increase in popularity and online library resources increase
  7. real time communication, through Twitter, texting, etc., leveraged by teachers in the classroom
  8. collaboration becomes the norm rather than the exception as educators and colleagues use wikis and Google Wave to communicate and create
  9. young people becoming meaning-makers and being taken seriously for their efforts, interest, and contributions
  10. social action combining with learning to make a positive change while learners receive hands on education

I am not the only one making predictions! Here is one that I hope comes with goggles and a really cool nerf gun mod:

edupunk

So, what does your crystal ball tell you?

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